After Miracle, American Indian Woman…for Sainthood, by Kie Relyea, Eagle-Tribune-McClatchy Newspapers

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha-photo- Catholic org.

Osiyo, A wonderful  event has occurred over the Christmas holiday. The  Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, who was a member of the Mohawk-Alogonquain Nation will be the first American Indian to be canonized. For  many American Indian Catholics, Blessed Kateri’s canonization was a cause for celebration. Excerpt:

“BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Pope Benedict XVI has decreed that a Washington state boy’s recovery from the flesh-eating bacteria that nearly killed him in 2006 is a miracle that can be attributed to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha’s help, making possible the canonization of the first American Indian saint in the Catholic Church. Monsignor Paul A. Lenz, the vice postulator for the cause of Blessed Kateri, confirmed on Monday, Dec. 19, the link to Jake Finkbonner.

Doctors who treated Jake, as well as a committee of doctors at the Vatican, came to the same conclusion…They didn’t think any of their medical expertise was the cure…They thought every night he was going to die. As Jake lay near death, the Rev. Tim Sauer, a longtime family friend, advised his mom and dad, Elsa and Donny Finkbonner, to pray to Blessed Kateri, who is the patroness for American Indians, for her intercession. That is akin to asking Blessed Kateri to pray to God to perform a miracle on Jake’s behalf. The boy is of Lummi descent.

The Vatican decided Jake’s recovery was a miracle that is beyond the explanation of medicine and that could be attributed to the intercession on his behalf by Blessed Kateri, who was born in 1656…Known as the Lily of the Mohawks, she was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980, becoming the first American Indian to be so honored.”

A Must read article! It provides us with Inspiration and most importantly Hope for the New Year.

Painting of The Blessed Kateri photo: The Tamastslikt Cultural Institute

Biography  for The  Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha can be read here.

YouTube Video: courtesy of the Jesuit Community of Auriesville, NY

To learn more, See the video narrated by Father John Paret, SJ, Father Victor Hoagland, CP, and Eleonora Centrone. (click on photo)

“I am not my own; I have given myself to Jesus. He must be my only love…With the work of my hands I shall always earn what is necessary and what is left over I’ll give to my relatives and to the poor… If I should become sick and unable to work, then I shall be like the Lord on the cross. He will have mercy on me and help me, I am sure.”  ~The  Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha~

To all of our readers, (and those yet to join us) please be safe, and may you have a Happy and Prosperous New Year…alihelisdi itse udetiyvsadisvi

Tags: Pope Benedict XVI, The Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

The MacArthur Foundation, Jessie Little Doe Baird

Osiyo,

We find ourselves once again at the holiday known as Thanksgiving, which for some is a time for celebration, and for others a time for reflection on disastrous past historical events. These events involved the pilgrims and the American Indian tribe  The Wampanoag who helped the first group of pilgrims survive… and later regretted it. The result was that the tribe was nearly decimated, and lost everything, including their language.

Jessie Little Doe Baird photo Courtesy the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

No… not quite everything, they kept their spirit. Because of this spirit, Jessie Little Doe Baird, a member of  the Mashpee Wampanoag Nation was determined to revive the Wampanoag language which was an important part of their culture. An excerpt from the article:

“….She undertook graduate training in linguistics and language pedagogy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she worked with the late Kenneth Hale, a scholar of indigenous languages, to decipher grammatical patterns and compile vocabulary lists from archival Wampanoag documents… Baird founded the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, an intertribal effort that aims to return fluency to the Wampanoag Nation…” A must read article.

Professor Ken Hale (August 15, 1934 – October 8, 2001)

With the help  and guidance of the venerable Linguist, Professor Kenneth L. Hale, of MIT, the Wampanoag language has been revived.

In addition, Independent Lens created a film about the Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project  entitled  We Still Live Here:

“Celebrated every Thanksgiving as the ‘Indians’ who saved the Pilgrims from starvation and then largely forgotten, the Wampanoag communities of southeastern Massachusetts are reviving their native tongue, a language that had been silenced for more than 100 years.” Independent Lens-

“Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.” ~   Oliver Wendell Holmes~

Related Material

Kenneth L. Hale- MIT News

Lesson Plan: The Wampanoag By Grace Arai, Indian Education Program Anchorage School District.

This is a wonderful lesson plan that is well organized and covers the main aspects of  the Wampanoags’ life including their relationship with the pilgrims.  She also includes an answer key for questions, and a bibliography for further study.  This information is from Ms. Arai’s book:  The World of the Wampanoag: The Indians Who Met the Pilgrims

Visit Wampanoags, Plymouth, Massachusetts: Plymouth Plantation has created a 1620 date example of Hobbamock’s Homesite

Women’s Buckskin Dance by Pow Wow.com

Northern Buckskin Red Earth

Osiyo,

Women’s Buckskin Dance is one of the oldest forms of American Indian dancing. In the coming festivities to celebrate Native and Alaskan Indian Heritage month, the ladies will be performing this and other cultural dances. Here is an excerpt describing the dance. From the elegant and graceful steps, to the beautiful dresses.

“…One of the oldest forms of  Native American Women’s Dance is Buckskin… This is a dance of elegance and grace. The movement is smooth and flowing.

The ladies wear fine, hand-crafted buckskin dresses, decorated with intricate bead designs. Northern dresses are fully beaded on the shoulders, or cape. Southern ones, the beadwork is mainly used to accent. They are equally beautiful. The women carry fringed shawls over one arm…The jewelry is breath taking…Breastplates made from hair bone pipe, and glass beads can hang to the waist, or all the way to the ankles… Circling the drum, they bob to the beat of the drum, letting the long fringe on their sleeves sway in time… This slight movement, however, creates a beautiful effect in moving their leather fringe in a breezy swaying motion…”

Visit the Pow Wow site to read the entire article and to learn more about Pow Wows!

Grand-entry- Woman and child
Rear view of this magnificent dress.	Northern Buckskin Morongo

“A modest woman, dressed out in all her finery, is the most tremendous object of the whole creation.”

~ Oliver Goldsmith~

Osiyo,

November is American Indian and Alaskan Native Heritage Month . This is the time for songs, dances, and reflections. Talking Feather features Lesson plans (with teachers’ guide and Answer Keys) Tribalpedia,  featuring the Inuit and Alaskan Nations. Be sure to visit and feel free to utilize the material, especially if you are a teacher.

President Obama at 2010 White House Tribal Nations Conference.

There are many wonderful events taking place. To begin  the celebrations, an article from Domestic Policy Council,  by Kimberly Teehee, the White House Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs. She discusses the upcoming Tribal Nations Conference  2011. Excerpt: …”As you may have already heard, the President, along with members of the Cabinet, Senior Administration officials, and tribal leaders will gather at the 2011 White House Tribal Nations Conference on December 2nd. As part of President Obama’s ongoing outreach to the American people…”

We encourage everyone to read the entire article to learn more about the conference.

Artist James Luna: "Take a picture with a real Indian" exhibit.

Another site of interest is the Smithsonian “Infinity of Nations” The review of the exhibition by  Jess Righthand, explores thousands of years of artwork from the Native nations of North, Central and South America… One “very interesting” artist in the program is James Luna: “Standing at a podium wearing an outfit, I announce: “Take a picture with a real Indian. Take a picture here, in Washington, D.C. on this beautiful Monday morning, on this holiday called Columbus Day…And then I just stand there. Eventually, one person will pose with me. After that they just start lining up. I’ll do that for a while until I get mad enough or humiliated enough….”

Inuit woman's Tuilli, or Parka NMAI.

Another beautiful exhibit are the artifacts and clothing representing the various tribal Nations, such as this Inuit woman’s Tuilli.

R.C. Gorman painting

Included are the wonderful paintings, and drawings of  Navajo artist R.C. Gorman.

The N.C. Museum of History in downtown Raleigh, will hold its celebration Saturday, Nov. 19, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are FREE.

There are many up-coming events, and we will enjoy presenting as many as we can!

If you would like your celebration to be announced on Talking Feather send us an email (see below).  In the meantime, love who you are, and enjoy your life!

“What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences…Life is plurality, death is uniformity…Every culture that disappears, diminishes a possibility of life.” ~Octavio Paz~ Mexican poet and writer (1914-1998)
 

Native Foster Care: Lost Children and Shattered Families, NPR, by L. Sullivan and A. Walters

Derrin Yellow Robe-3- Crow Creek Reservation- photo: John Poole:NPR

Osiyo,

Recently NPR has been conducting an investigation into the removal of Native American children from their families and into foster care.  The result of their findings were shocking…

The following is an excerpt from the overview:

“Nearly 700 Native American children in South Dakota are being removed from their homes every year, sometimes under questionable circumstances. An NPR News investigation has found that the state is largely failing to place them according to the law. The vast majority of native kids in foster care in South Dakota are in nonnative homes or group homes, according to an NPR analysis of state records. Years ago, thousands of Native American children were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to boarding schools…Many suffered horrible abuse, leaving entire generations missing from the one place whose future depended on them —their tribes

In 1978, Congress tried to put a stop to it. They passed the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says except in the rarest circumstances, Native American children must be placed with their relatives or tribes. It also says states must do everything it can to keep native families together.

But 32 states are failing to abide by the act in one way or another, and, an NPR investigation has found, nowhere is that more apparent than in South Dakota. “Cousins are disappearing; family members are disappearing,” said Peter Lengkeek, a Crow Creek Tribal Council member. “It’s kidnapping. That’s how we see it.” State officials say they have to do what’s in the best interest of the child, but the state does have a financial incentive to remove the children. The state receives thousands of dollars from the federal government for every child it takes from a family, and in some cases the state gets even more money if the child is Native American. The result is that South Dakota is now removing children at a rate higher than the vast majority of other states in the country…”

We urge you to read (or listen to) the entire NPR series..

Our “heart-felt” thanks to our reader LJ!

Part 1: Incentives And Cultural Bias Fuel Foster System-

Part 2: Tribes Question Foster Group’s Power And Influence

Part 3: Native Survivors Of Foster Care Return Home

Suzanne Crow photo:John Poole/NPR

A Fight For Her Grandchildren Mirrors A Native Past- by Nathan Rott

Grown men can learn from very little children, for the hearts of little children are pure. Therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss.~Black Elk~

(1863-1950-Holy Man of the Oglala Lakota Sioux)

Atanarjuat  ’The Fast Runner” (2001)

"The Fast Runner" stars Natar Ungalaaq (Atanarjuat) and Pakkak Innukshuk (Amaqjuaq).

Osiyo!

Talking Feather is proud to have the Inuit as part of our family. They are the first nation to appear in our Alaskan Nations group. For those of you who may not know of the Inuit film  Atanarjuat “Fast Runner” (2001) it was created by the Inuits with “all” Inuit actors.

The story is an Inuit legend about an evil spirit that enters a small Inuit village, and causes discord among the members. The warrior (Atanarjuat) battles this evil, and has to decide whether to follow the path of good or evil to defeat the evil. The tribal members endure many conflicts within the family (love, jealousy, hate, battles)

The following information is from the Inuit website:

The beautiful Atuat (Sylvis Ivalu) from Fast Runner

“Igloolik is a community of 1200 people located on a small island in the north Baffin region of the Canadian Arctic with archeological evidence of 4000 years of continuous habitation. Throughout these millennia, with no written language, untold numbers of nomadic Inuit renewed their culture and traditional knowledge for every generation entirely through storytelling.

Our film Atanarjuat is part of this continuous stream of oral history carried forward into the new millennium through a marriage of Inuit storytelling skills and new technology.

Atanarjuat is Canada’s first feature-length fiction film written, produced, directed, and acted by Inuit. An exciting action thriller set in ancient Igloolik, the film unfolds as a life-threatening struggle between powerful natural and supernatural characters. Atanarjuat gives international audiences a more authentic view of Inuit culture and oral tradition than ever before, from the inside and through Inuit eyes.

For countless generations, Igloolik elders have kept the legend of Atanarjuat alive to teach young Inuit the danger of setting personal desire above the needs of the group.

The tale of making the film is itself made up of many stories…”

Visit the website to learn more about the film, it’s actors, the  many awards the film has won, and to view more of the photos from the film. Very intriguing!

 
Website: Atanarjuat The Fast Runner

“Who plots evil with deceit in his heart–he always stirs up dissension.”~ Proverbs 6:14~

Apple’s Visionary Redefined Digital Age, By John Markoff,  The New York Times

Steve Jobs-1955-2011 photo: Wired Magazine

Osiyo,

We here at Talking Feather send our sympathy to Mr. Jobs’ family and friends. He will be missed.

“doh-na-da-go-huh-i…”

“The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.”

~President  Barack Obama~ 2011

Tags: Apple, Steve Jobs

Osiyo,

When it comes to Native Indians, non-Indians know little about the Gay and Lesbian Indian communities. Moreover, they know little about the pain and suffering the Two-Spirit people endure. Emmy-winning PBS series Independent lens presented Two-Spirits, the beautiful and  heart-breaking story of Navajo Fred Martinez  who was one of the youngest hate-crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered at 16. Two Spirits explores the life and death of a boy who was also a girl, and the essentially spiritual nature of gender.

Fred Martinez as both male and female.

Fred's mom Pauline at her son's death site.

In Remembrance of Fred Martinez… and Peace to the family-
Talking Feather

See Segments of Video Two Spirits Here

Excerpts from the film:

“Two Spirits interweaves the tragic story of a mother’s loss of her son with a revealing look at the largely unknown history of a time when the world wasn’t simply divided into male and female and many Native American cultures held places of honor for people of integrated genders.

Fred Martinez was nádleehí, a male-bodied person with a feminine nature, a special gift according to his ancient Navajo culture. He was one of the youngest hate-crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered at 16. Two Spirits explores the life and death of this boy who was also a girl, and the essentially spiritual nature of gender.

The Navajo believe that to maintain harmony, there must be a balanced interrelationship between the feminine and the masculine within the individual, in families, in the culture, and in the natural world. Two Spirits reveals how these beliefs are expressed in a natural range of gender diversity. For the first time on film, it examines the Navajo concept of nádleehí, (one who constantly transforms)…

Two Spirits mourns the young Fred Martinez and the threatened disappearance of the two-spirit tradition, but it also brims with hope and the belief that we all are enriched by multi-gendered people, and that all of us — regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or cultural heritage — benefit from being free to be our truest selves…”

Dancing is an uplifting experience of self-transformation designed to bring the spirits into your life…Dancing to Eagle Spirit Society: Two- Spirits Dancing

“When we’re free to love anyone we choose,

When this worlds big enough for all different views,

When we’re all free to worship from our own kind of pew,

Then we shall be free” ~ Garth Brooks ~ (Song: We Shall Be Free)

To AV & RD — JW & JQ–and to all of our  beautiful Two- Spirit Ones!

Additional Knowledge:

Two Spirit Artists

Paula Gunn Allen (October 24, 1939 – May 29, 2008)  Poet, literary critic, lesbian activist.

Joy Harjo ( May 9, 1951-) Muscogee (Creek) Nation- Author, poet, singer.

Barbara Cameron (May 22, 1954-February 12, 2002) (Hunkpapa) Cofounder of Gay American Indians.

Chrystos ( November  7, 1946-) Menominee tribe- Writer, poet, Lesbian activist.

Books

Two Spirit People: American Indian Lesbian Women and Gay Men, by Lester B. Brown

Read About Zuni Princess Wewa- A Two-Spirit weaver.

Becoming Tw0-Spirit…by Brian Joseph Gilley

Two Spirit Support Organizations

Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS) a six-year-old nonprofit that offers support and activities to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Native Americans. Similar groups exist in Oklahoma, Colorado and Minnesota.

The South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association (SALGA) SALGA has gained prominence within New York City’s Indian American community.

Article:Without Reservations: Native American Lesbians Struggle to Find Their Way by: Diane Anderson-Minshall, Curve Magazine

Rainbow Law-Gay and Lesbian Directory

Mexico gay and lesbian publications… New Mexico gay and lesbian business…realtors, gay travel, gay wedding info, gay and lesbian support groups and much more.

Gay and Lesbians Organizations and Publications (national and international) Listings in alphabetical order to help locate what you need.

Out Loud Radio Loud and Proud about Gay and lesbians! :)

Tags: Gay and Lesbian Rights, Independent Lens, Navajo Fred Martinez, PBS, Two-Spirit

Mohawk Joe Goodleaf

Osiyo,

We are  very pleased to announce that because of the high response from readers  for the  post  The Mohawks: Iron Birds of “Hope” we have created a special and permanent lesson plan specifically for this courageous group of men and their women who played a major role in the history of  The Mohawk Iron Walkers.  It includes  information from the original post, additonal photos,  and activities for students (and everyone) to learn from and to enjoy. Visit Lesson Plan Mohawk Iron Walkers

We would like to thank all of the readers for their wonderful support!

“It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story” – American IndianProverb

Tags: Lesson Plan, Mohawk Iron Walkers

Osiyo,

The infamous 9/11 will be  upon us once again,  and with it sad memories, and pain.  Here at Talking-Feather our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones at that time. We also wanted to acknowledge and thank another group of  Heroes who have been overlooked. The Mohawk Iron Walkers ( aka SkyDancers) who helped remove the tangled iron mass  when the tragedy of 9/11 occurred. These structures were the same ones their ancestors helped to build years ago.  Now, the new generation of Mohawks are instrumental in rebuilding  the structures today. They represent hope for our future and for the future of our children. Photo:  From right: Joe Regis (Mohawk, Kahnawake) and an unidentified ironworker erecting the Chase Manhattan Bank Building in New York, ca. 1960.

The following is an excerpt from the Smithsonian Institution Entitled Mohawk Iron Workers Build New York:

Mohawk Iron Workers-ca. 1960. photo:Courtesy of Bethlehem Steel

Powerful Symbols of America

“A 21st-century Mohawk ironworker might easily be called a real “man of steel.” For more than 100 years, Mohawk people have taken part in the seemingly superhuman task of building skyscrapers and bridges throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad. Working in New York City since the 1920s, these brave and skilled ironworkers built the city’s most prominent landmarks, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the George Washington Bridge, and the World Trade Center.

The Mohawk tradition of ironworking began in the mid-1880s when they were hired as unskilled laborers to build a bridge over the St. Lawrence River onto Mohawk land. They quickly earned a reputation for being top-notch workers on high steel, and “booming out” from their Native communities in search of the next big job became a fact of life.

During the 1940s and 1950s, many Mohawk ironworking families moved to the New York City area—as many as 700 families into Brooklyn—to aid in the city’s vertical expansion. In the 1960s, when New York City announced plans for the World Trade Center, Mohawk ironworkers eagerly accepted the challenge of erecting the then tallest buildings in the world. In September 2001, after the collapse of the twin towers, Mohawk ironworkers returned to dismantle what their elders had contributed to the Manhattan skyline decades earlier.”

A bricklayer and his Ironworking relatives circa 1956

“A lot of people think Mohawks aren’t afraid of heights; that’s not true. We have as much fear as the next guy. The difference is that we deal with it better. We also have the experience of the old timers to follow and the responsibility to lead the younger guys. There’s pride in ‘walking iron.’” —Kyle Karonhiaktatie Beauvais (Mohawk, Kahnawake)

Many Mohawks from Canada, and from  New York,  were killed building these structures. These brave men should be honored and praised-  Remember them on 9/11…and for always…

Additonal Information for the Mohawk Iron Workers

Documentaries:

The  Film SKYDANCER by Katja Esson, is a feature length documentary that takes a provocative look at the Mohawk Sky Walkers and Indian life in the 21st Century:

The Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center: for more than 120 years, Mohawk ironworkers have raised America’s modern cityscapes. They are called ‘sky walkers’ because they walk fearlessly atop steel beams just a foot wide, high above the city. Who are these Mohawk sky walkers? What is their secret for overcoming fear? Has ‘sky walking’ replaced an ancient rite of passage? Or is it the pure need to adapt in order to survive? And what is their life really like, when every Friday at quitting time, they jump in their cars and make the eight-hour drive up north to their families on the reservation? SKYDANCER is a feature length documentary that takes a provocative look at Indian life in the 21st Century. more

To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey by Reaghan Tarbell

To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey is an hour-long documentary about the personal story of Mohawk filmmaker Reaghan Tarbell from Kahnawake, Quebec as she explores her roots and traces the connections of her family to the Mohawk community in Brooklyn, New York. (PBS)

High Steel by Don Own

This short (14minutes)  view of  the Mohawk Indians of Kahnawake who work in New York City  building the steel frames of  skyscrapers.

Books:

Skywalkers: Mohawk Ironworker Build the City, by David Weitman

Apologies to the Iroquois…The Mohawks in High Steel by Joseph Mitchell.